MS-13 gang member gets 10 years in sex-trafficking case

Federal prosecutors in Virginia continue to target the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, the latest focus of a gang task force being a 21-year-old Maryland man who pleaded guilty Friday to sex-trafficking charges.

Jonathan Adonay Fuentes, who also is kwown as “Crazy Boy,” of Clinton, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking a juvenile female as part of a prostitution enterprise operated by MS-13.

U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride in the Eastern District of Virginia, and Assistant FBI Director Valerie Parlave, who heads the bureau’s Washington field office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

“As the driver for MS-13, Fuentes transported a young girl to various hotels and apartments — helping the gang exploit her as a child prostitute,” said Mr. MacBride. “We have a zero-tolerance policy against anyone who makes it possible to profit from the sexual slavery of children.”

Ms. Parlave said the sentencing demonstrates that those who force young girls into prostitution, as well as those who allow it, “will pay the price for their actions,

“Along with our law enforcement partners, the FBI will continue to ensure that anyone who commits any form of child exploitation will be pursued and punished to the fullest extent of the law,”she said.

According to court documents, Fuentes assisted his fellow MS-13 gang members from the fall of 2009 through the spring of 2010 run a prostitution ring that specialized in selling juvenile girls for commercial sex.

He admitted in court to transporting a teenage girl within Virginia and Maryland to engage in sex with clients. The large majority of appointments took place at an MS-13-controlled apartment in Maryland; however, Fuentes also prostituted the young girl at various hotels throughout Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Gang members supplied the victim with drugs and alcohol to keep her compliant.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington field office, with assistance from the Fairfax County Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), all of whom participate in the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Terwilliger and Patricia T. Giles are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies — along with nongovernmental organizations — dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.